Bioimaging apparatus

ABSTRACT

To improve image quality as well as considering miniaturization. In the top surface  2 A of a housing  2 , a placing part  7  is provided near other end of shorter side ED 2 . A reflective board  6  is provided between an imaging opening part  3  facing to the above placing part  7  and one end of shorter side ED 1 . And in the housing  2  at a lower part of the above imaging opening part  3 , a CCD image pickup device  4  for transmitting near infrared lights that passed through a finger FG placed on the placing part and was refracted by the reflective board  6  as a blood vessel image signal S 1  is provided.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a bioimaging apparatus, and is suitablyapplied to biometrics authentication, for example.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, blood vessels existing inward of a living body is aimedfor one of the objects of biometrics authentication.

Deoxygenetated hemoglobin (venous blood) or oxygeneted hemoglobin(arterial blood) flowing in a blood vessel has a property that uniquelyabsorbs lights in a near infrared band (near infrared lights). Animaging apparatus for picking up the image of blood vessels by usingthis property has been proposed.

Concretely, an imaging apparatus in which near infrared lights areemitted to a finger being placed on an imaging opening from a lightsource of near infrared light, the lights are reflected or dispersedinward of this finger, and near infrared lights entered in a housingpassed through the above finger and the imaging opening are induced onthe imaging plane of an image pickup device via an optical lens, so thatblood vessels are imaged has been proposed (see Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 2004-195792 (see FIGS. 2 and 15, for example.)

By the way, in an imaging apparatus having the above configuration,distortion of aberration in an optical system caused by that thedistance between the finger and the image pickup device is short iscorrected by a macro lens and signal processing. However, there is alimit in the reproducibility. Thus, there is a problem that improvementin image quality above a certain degree cannot be expected. Moreparticularly, if considering that the images of blood vessels will beused as objects to be authenticated or a part of data in medicaldiagnosis, the problem of image quality is further serious.

On the other hand, if it is tried to physically keep the distancebetween the imaging opening and the object to be imaged, the thicknessof the overall imaging apparatus increases for that. It is not agreewith a demand for miniaturization in recent years. More particularly, itis not adequate in the case of installing the above imaging apparatus ina portable terminal device such as a cellular phone in that a demand forreduction in thickness is strong.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Considering the above point, the present invention has been done, andprovides a bioimaging apparatus in that image quality can be improvedwhile considering miniaturization.

To solve the above problem, according to the present invention, in abioimaging apparatus for imaging a formation in a bioregion as an objectto be imaged, a placing part that is provided on the front surface sideof a housing containing an electronic circuit to place the bioregion, anemitting part for emitting imaging lights to the placing part, areflective board that is provided on the front surface side of thehousing as facing to the placing part and reflects the imaging lightsfrom the bioregion placed on the placing part to the inner side of thehousing, and an image pickup device that is provided in the housing andtransmits the imaging lights reflected by the reflective board as animage signal are provided.

Accordingly, in this bioimaging apparatus, in addition to the distancefrom the image pickup device to the reflective board in the thicknessdirection, the distance from the reflective board to the placing part inthe horizontal direction can be kept. Therefore, distortion ofaberration in the optical system can be removed without only relying oncorrection by a macro lens and a signal processing circuit, as well asrestraining the overall thickness.

Further, according to the present invention, in a bioimaging apparatusfor imaging a formation in a bioregion as an object to be imaged, aplacing part that is provided on the front surface side of a housingcontaining an electronic circuit to place the bioregion, an emittingpart for emitting imaging lights to the placing part, and an imagepickup device that is provided on the front surface side of the housingas facing to the placing part and transmits the imaging lights from thebioregion placed on the placing part as an image signal are provided.

Accordingly, in this bioimaging apparatus, a distance can be kept on thefront surface side of the above housing in the horizontal direction,without containing an imaging system such as an emitting part and animage pickup device in a housing containing an electronic circuit.Therefore, distortion of aberration in the optical system can be removedwithout only relying on correction by a macro lens and a signalprocessing circuit, as well as reducing the thickness of the abovehousing itself and restraining the overall thickness.

According to the present invention, in a bioimaging apparatus forimaging a formation in a bioregion as an object to be imaged, a placingpart that is provided on the front surface side of a housing containingan electronic circuit to place the bioregion, an emitting part foremitting imaging lights to the placing part, a reflective board that isprovided on the front surface side of the housing as facing to theplacing part and reflects the imaging lights from the bioregion placedon the placing part to the inside of the housing, and an image pickupdevice that is provided in the housing and transmits the imaging lightsreflected by the reflective board as an image signal are provided.Thereby, in addition to the distance from the CCD image pickup device tothe reflective board in the thickness direction, the distance from thereflective board to the placing part can be kept in the horizontaldirection. Therefore, distortion of aberration in an optical system canbe removed without only relying on correction by a macro lens and asignal processing circuit, as well as restraining the overall thickness.Thus, image quality can be improved while considering miniaturization.

Further, according to the present invention, in a bioimaging apparatusfor imaging a formation in a bioregion as an object to be imaged, aplacing part that is provided on the front surface side of a housingcontaining an electronic circuit to place the bioregion, an emittingpart for emitting imaging lights to the placing part, and an imagepickup device that is provided on the front surface side of the housingas facing to the placing part and transmits the imaging lights from thebioregion placed on the placing part as an image signal are provided.Thereby, a distance can be kept on the front surface side of the abovehousing in the horizontal direction, without containing an imagingsystem such as an emitting part and an image pickup device in a housingcontaining an electronic circuit. Therefore, distortion of aberration inthe optical system can be removed without only relying on correction bya macro lens and a signal processing circuit, as well as reducing thethickness of the above housing itself and restraining the overallthickness. Thus, image quality can be improved while consideringminiaturization.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the exterior configuration (1) ofan authentication apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the exterior configuration (2) ofthe authentication apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the light path of nearinfrared lights.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a placement of a finger.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of theauthentication apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the exterior configuration (openstate) of a cellular phone.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the exterior configuration (closedstate (1)) of the cellular phone.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the exterior configuration (closedstate (2)) of the cellular phone.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the section (1) of a secondhousing.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the section (2) of the secondhousing.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining the light path of nearinfrared lights in the second housing.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of thecellular phone.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an imagingapparatus in other embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment to which the present invention is applied will bedescribed in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) Exterior Configuration of AuthenticationApparatus

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 that is a section by A-A′ in this FIG. 1,the reference numeral 1 shows an authentication apparatus according to afirst embodiment as a whole. In a housing 2 in an almost rectangularparallelepiped shape, at a position near one end of shorter side ED1, animaging opening part 3 is formed as extending from a top surface 2A tothe inside of the housing 2. On the bottom surface of this imagingopening part 3, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image pickup device 4 isdisposed.

Between this imaging opening part 3 and the CCD image pickup device 4,an optical system part OS composed of a lens, a diaphragm and an objectlens that have a macro lens function and a filter function toselectively transmit near infrared lights are provided. On the surfaceof the imaging opening part 3, a white and transparent opening coverpart 5 made of predetermined material is provided. Thereby, that aforeign object comes in the housing 2 from the imaging opening part 3can be prevented, and the optical system part OS and the CCD imagepickup device 4 can be protected.

On the other hand, between the imaging opening part 3 and the one end ofshorter side ED1, a board-form reflective board 6 is provided asinclined to other end of shorter side ED2 so as to have an inclinationangle of 45 degrees to the top surface 2A. At a position near the aboveother end of shorter side ED2, a placing part 7 to place a finger isprovided. Between the above placing part 7 and the other end of shorterside ED2, three near infrared light emitting parts 8 (8A, 8B and 8C) foremitting near infrared lights uniquely absorbed by hemoglobin to theplacing part 7 as imaging lights of blood vessels are provided.

Thereby, in this authentication apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 3, if afinger FG is placed on the placing part 7, near infrared lights emittedfrom the near infrared light emitting parts 8 are irradiated to theabove finger FG. The lights are absorbed by hemoglobin flowing in bloodvessels existing inward of the finger FG, and pass through the inside ofthe finger FG by reflected and dispersed in tissues other than the bloodvessels, and are emitted out of the above finger FG as near infraredlights projecting the blood vessels (hereinafter, this is referred to as“blood vessel projecting lights”). Then, the blood vessel projectinglights that are almost parallel to the top surface 2A are refracted by areflecting surface RF of the reflective board 6, and are incident on theimaging surface IF of the CCD image pickup device 4 sequentially via theopening cover part 5 and the optical system part OS. As a result, inthis authentication apparatus 1, the image of the blood vessels inwardof the finger FG placed on the placing part 7 is formed on the imagingsurface IF of the CCD image pickup device 4.

The CCD image pickup device 4 picks up the image of the blood vesselsformed on the imaging surface IF, and transmits thus obtained signal toan electronic circuit contained in the housing 2 as a blood vessel imagesignal.

In this manner, the authentication apparatus 1 can image the bloodvessels inward of the finger FG.

(1-2) Countermeasure to Improve Image Quality

In addition to the above configuration, in this authentication apparatus1, various countermeasures to improve image quality are taken in orderto obtain fine imaging results.

Practically, as also obvious from FIGS. 1 and 2, in the reflective board6, a cover part 9 which covers the reflecting surface RF except for theincident path and the reflecting path of imaging lights (near infraredlights) to the reflecting surface RF is formed in one body. Thereby, inthis authentication apparatus 1, the situation that lights in theatmosphere enter to the imaging opening part 3 can be prevented.Therefore, blood vessels in a living body can be imaged withoutincluding noise components caused by the above lights in the atmospherein a blood vessel image signal.

Then, between the reflective board 6 and the placing part 7, asheet-form light absorbing part 10 is laid. Thus, in this authenticationapparatus 1, the situation that lights in the atmosphere go to thereflective board 6 as reflecting lights from the top surface 2A can beprevented. At the same time, in blood vessel projecting lights emittedby passing through the inside of the finger FG, blood vessel projectinglights that are almost parallel to the top surface 2A can be furtherselectively emitted to the imaging surface IF of the CCD image pickupdevice 4. Thereby, the blood vessels in the living body can be furtherfaithfully imaged.

Note that, in this authentication apparatus 1, the top surface 2A is notisolated from the outside as a whole. Therefore, the situation that inthe case of isolated, in its inside, near infrared lights which werereflected without passing through the finger FG are emitted to theimaging surface IF of the CCD image pickup device 4 via the reflectiveboard 6 can be avoided.

Further, on the top surface 2A providing the near infrared lightemitting parts 8, a slant surface SF having an inclination angle of 120degrees to the above top surface 2A is formed. Thereby, in thisauthentication apparatus 1, as also obvious from FIG. 3, near infraredlights are emitted to the surface of the finger FG placed on the placingpart 7 from an oblique direction. Therefore, in this authenticationapparatus 1, in comparison to the case of emitting them from thedirection parallel to the top surface 2A, reflecting lights to thesurface of the finger FG can be vastly reduced, and also further moreblood vessel projecting lights can be emitted from the above finger FG.Thus, the blood vessels in the living body can be further faithfullyimaged.

Then, these near infrared light emitting parts 8 emit near infraredlights in an wavelength band that will be uniquely absorbed by both ofoxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin (approximately 900[nm]-1000 [nm]). Thereby, in this authentication apparatus 1, both ofblood vessels in a venous system and an arterial system that are mixedin the ends of a living body can be faithfully imaged.

Further, in the placing part 7, a pair of guide parts 11 (11A and 11B)to guide a finger FG so that the belly of the finger FG is orthogonal tothe top surface 2A are formed. Thereby, in this authentication apparatus1, as shown in FIG. 4, the side of the finger FG can be placed on theplacing part 7. Thus, bloodstream stop caused by that a user stronglypressed the finger FG on the placing part 7 can be prevented, incomparison to the case of placing the belly of the above finger FG.Consequently, blood vessels in a living body can be certainly imaged.

Further, between this pair of guide parts 11, as also obvious from FIG.1, three switches for detecting a touch of a finger FG (hereinafter,this is referred to as “finger touch detection switches”) 12 (12A, 12Band 12C) are provided along the guide direction at predeterminedintervals. In this authentication apparatus 1, in the case where being afinger FG parallel was recognized based on detection results by thesefinger touch detection switches 12A, 12B and 12C, imaging of the abovefinger FG can be started.

Thereby, in this authentication apparatus 1, a finger can be imaged inthe same inclination of the finger without depending on the person to beimaged. Consequently, correcting processing on an imaging result (bloodvessel image signal S1) such as turning the image after the aboveimaging can be omitted.

(1-3) Circuit Configuration of Authentication Apparatus

Next, FIG. 5 shows the circuit configuration of the authenticationapparatus 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, the authentication apparatus 1 is formed by that animaging drive part 22, an image processing part 23, an authenticationpart 24, a flash memory 25 and an interface for transmitting/receivingdata to/from external devices (hereinafter, this is referred to as an“external interface”) 26 are connected to a control part 20 via a bus 21respectively.

This control part 20 has a computer configuration including a CPU(Central Processing Unit) for controlling the entire authenticationapparatus 1, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in that various programs arestored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) serving as a work memory of theabove CPU. Corresponding detection signals S12A, S12B and S12C aresupplied to the above control part 20, from the three finger touchdetection switches 12A, 12B and 12C (FIG. 1) respectively.

Further, from an external management system (not shown) for managingregistered blood vessel images in a database via the external interface26, data of the above registered blood vessel image (hereinafter, thisis referred to as “registered blood vessel image data”) DR is suppliedto the control part 20.

Then, if the above registered blood vessel image data DR is supplied,the control part 20 shifts an operation mode to a blood vesselregistration mode and controls the flash memory 25 based on acorresponding program stored in the ROM, and stores the above registeredblood vessel image data DR in the flash memory 25 for holding.

On the other hand, in the case where all of the corresponding detectionsignals S12A, S12B and S12C were supplied from the three finger touchdetection switches 12A, 12B and 12C (FIG. 1), the control part 20recognizes that the finger FG is parallel. The control part 20 shiftsthe operation mode to an authentication mode, and controls the imagingdrive part 22, the image processing part 23 and the authentication part24 respectively, based on a corresponding program stored in the ROM. Atthe same time, the control part 20 reads the registered blood vesselimage data DR registered in the flash memory 25 and transmits this tothe authentication part 24.

In this case, the imaging drive part 22 drives the near infrared lightemitting parts 8 and the CCD image pickup device 4 respectively. As aresult, from the near infrared light emitting parts 8, near infraredlights are emitted to the finger FG placed between the pair of guideparts 11A and 11B (FIG. 3) at this time, and blood vessel projectinglights induced to the imaging surface IF of the CCD image pickup device4 (FIG. 3) via the above finger FG is transmitted from the CCD imagepickup device 4 to the image processing part 23, as a blood vessel imagesignal S1.

The image processing part 23 sequentially performs for example,analog-to-digital conversion processing, various filtering processingfor noise component elimination and outline emphasis, binarizationprocessing, and blood vessel linearization processing called Morphology,on the blood vessel image signal S1. The image processing part 23transmits thus obtained data of a blood vessel image (hereinafter, thisis referred to as “blood vessel image data”) D23 to the authenticationpart 24.

The authentication part 24 detects an agreement degree in blood vesselforming pattern between the blood vessel image based on this bloodvessel image data D23 and the registered blood vessel image based on theregistered blood vessel image data DR read from the flash memory 25. Theauthentication part 24 determines whether or not the finger FG imaged atthat time is of the said registered person by the above agreementdegree, and transmits this determination result to the control part 20as determination data D24.

In this manner, if the control part 20 receives the determination dataD24 from the above authentication part 24 by controlling the imagingdrive part 22, the image processing part 23 and the authentication part24 as the above, the control part 20 transfers this determination dataD24 to an external device via the external interface IF. At the sametime, the control part 20 stops the near infrared light emitting parts 8and the CCD image pickup device 4 respectively, via the above imagingdrive part 22.

In this manner, the control part 20 executes bioauthenticationprocessing in that the presence of the said person (registered person)is determined using blood vessels being a proper formation existinginward of a living body as an object to be authenticated. Thereby, incomparison to the case of using a fingerprint on the surface of a livingbody or the like as an object, not only direct stealing from a livingbody but also pretending by a third party to a registered person can beprevented.

(1-4) Operation and Effect by First Embodiment

According to the above configuration, in this authentication apparatus1, in the top surface 2A of the housing 2, the placing part 7 isprovided near the other end of shorter side ED2. The reflective board 6is provided between the imaging opening part 3 facing to the aboveplacing part 7 and the one end of shorter side ED1. And at a lower partof the above imaging opening part 3 in the housing 2, the CCD imagepickup device 4 for transmitting near infrared lights that passedthrough the finger FG placed on the placing part 7 and was refracted bythe reflective board 6 as a blood vessel image signal S1 is provided.

Accordingly, in the authentication apparatus 1, the distance from theCCD image pickup device 4 to the top surface of the imaging opening part3 and the distance from the top surface of the above imaging openingpart 3 to the placing part 7 are connected by the reflective board 6, sothat the distance from the above CCD image pickup device 4 to theplacing part 7 can be kept longer than a conventional system for thedistance from the top surface of the imaging opening part 3 to theplacing part 7. Therefore, distortion of aberration in the opticalsystem can be removed, without only relying on correction by a macrolens and a signal processing circuit. Thus, image quality can beimproved.

Then, in this authentication apparatus 1, the placing part 7 and thereflective board 6 are disposed so that a light path is formed in almostparallel to the top surface 2A of the housing 2. Therefore, thethickness of the authentication apparatus 1 can be remarkably restrainedin comparison to the case of keeping the distance in the thicknessdirection. Thus, the authentication apparatus 1 can be miniaturized.

Further, in the authentication apparatus 1 as described above, by takingvarious countermeasures to improve image quality in order to obtain afine imaging result on the top surface 2A of the housing 2, mixing ofthe lights in the atmosphere other than imaging lights with the aboveimaging lights (near infrared lights) emitted to the CCD image pickupdevice 4 can be reduced. Therefore, image quality can be furtherimproved.

According to the above configuration, in the top surface 2A of thehousing 2, the placing part 7 is provided near the other end of shorterside ED2. The reflective board 6 is provided between the imaging openingpart 3 facing to the above placing part 7 and the one end of shorterside ED1. And at a lower part of the above imaging opening part 3 in thehousing 2, the CCD image pickup device 4 for transmitting near infraredlights that passed through the finger FG placed on the placing part 7and was refracted by the reflective board 6 as a blood vessel imagesignal S1 is provided. Thereby, in addition to the distance from the CCDimage pickup device 4 to the reflective board 6 in the thicknessdirection, the distance from the above reflective board 6 to the placingpart 7 in the horizontal direction can be kept. Therefore, distortion ofaberration in the optical system can be removed without only relying oncorrection by the macro lens and the signal processing circuit, as wellas restraining the entire thickness. Thus, image quality can be improvedwhile considering miniaturization.

(2) Second Embodiment (2-1) Exterior Configuration of Cellular Phone

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the reference numeral 51 shows a cellularphone according to a second embodiment as a whole. The cellular phone 51is formed by that a first housing (hereinafter, this is referred to as a“first housing”) 52 and a second housing (hereinafter, this is referredto as a “second housing”) 53 in an almost rectangular parallelepipedform are connected freely in turn in the almost horizontal direction bya rotary shaft part 54 provided at one end of the above second housing53.

At the center of the front surface of this first housing 52, a displaypart 55 is provided. A speaker 56 is provided at a part upper than theabove display part 55, and an operator called a jog dial that is freelyturned and pressed (hereinafter, this is referred to as a “rotary/pushoperator”) 57 is provided at a part lower than the display part 55,respectively.

On one hand, an operating part 58 composed of various operation keyssuch as a power key, a call key and a character input key is provided atthe center of the front surface of the second housing 53. A microphone59 is provided at a part lower than the above operating part 58.

In this cellular phone 51, in an open state that the back surface of thefirst housing 52 and the front surface of the second housing 53 areseparated (FIG. 6), call can be performed or the operating part 58 canbe operated while holding the second housing 53 with one hand. On theother hand, in a closed state that the back surface of the first housing52 and the front surface of the second housing 53 are overlapped (FIG.7), the operating part 58 is protected, and also misoperation isprevented. Further, the overall dimension of the cellular phone 51 canbe miniaturized, and the portability can be improved.

On the other hand, on the back surface of this second housing 53, asshown in FIG. 8 in that the same reference numerals are added tocorresponding parts to FIG. 1, and FIGS. 9 and 10 by a section by B-B′in FIG. 8, a difference-in-level part 61 in a recessed form is formednear one end of shorter side ED3. At the center of thisdifference-in-level part 61, an imaging opening part 3 is formed. In theabove imaging opening part 3, an opening cover part 5, an optical systempart OS and a CCD image pickup device 4 are provided in this order.

Further, in the difference-in-level part 61, a slide board 62 which isfreely movable from a position facing to the above CCD camera (CCD imagepickup device 4) (hereinafter, this is referred to as a “camerashielding position” (FIG. 9)) to the position of the one end of shorterside ED3 separated from the above camera shielding position(hereinafter, this is referred to as a “camera exposing position” (FIG.10)) is provided as corresponding to the back surface of the secondhousing 53.

At a predetermined position on the bottom surface of thedifference-in-level part 61, a press-type switch for detecting thecamera shielding position or the camera exposing position of the slideboard 62 (hereinafter, this is referred to as a “position detectionswitch”) 63 is provided. In this cellular phone 51, in the case wherethe camera exposing position (FIG. 10) was recognized based on thedetection result by the above position detection switch 63, an objectsuch as a background and a person can be imaged.

In addition to the above configuration, in the slide board 62, areflective board 6 and a cover part 9 are held so as to fit on anopening part 64 provided as digged at its center. Thereby, the abovereflective board 6 and cover part 9 can be freely moved from the camerashielding position (FIG. 9) to the camera exposing position (FIG. 10).

Further, on the other end of shorter side ED4, a slant surface SF isformed so as to form an inclination angle of 120 degrees to the backsurface of the second housing 53. On the above slant surface SF, nearinfrared light emitting parts 8 (8A, 8B and 8C) for emitting nearinfrared lights to a placing part 7 in an wavelength band that isuniquely absorbed by both of oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenatedhemoglobin (approximately 900 [nm]-1000 [nm]) are provided.

The placing part 7 to place a finger is provided near this other end ofshorter side ED4. In the above placing part 7, a pair of guide parts 11(11A and 11B) to guide a finger FG are provided so that the belly of thefinger FG is orthogonal to the top surface 2A. Between the above guideparts 11, three finger touch detection switches 12 (12A, 12B and 12C)are provided along the guide direction, at predetermined intervals.

Therefore, in this cellular phone 51, as shown in FIG. 11, if the slideboard 62 is at the camera shielding position (FIG. 9) and a finger FG isplaced between the pair of guide parts 11A and 11B in the placing part7, near infrared lights emitted from the near infrared light emittingparts 8 are emitted to the above finger FG, pass through the inside ofthe finger FG, and are emitted from the above finger FG as blood vesselprojecting lights. Then, the blood vessel projecting lights which arealmost parallel to the back surface of the second housing 53 are emittedto a space formed by the slide board 62 and the cover part 9, arerefracted by the reflecting surface RF of the above reflective board 6,and are incident to the CCD image pickup device 4 sequentially via theopening part 64, the opening cover part 5 and the optical system partOS. As a result, blood vessels in the finger FG are imaged by the CCDimage pickup device 4, and the imaging result is transmitted as a bloodvessel image signal.

In the case of this embodiment, in the cellular phone 51, in the casewhere the camera shielding position of the slide board 62 (FIG. 9) wasrecognized based on the detection result by the position detectionswitch 63 and being the finger FG parallel was recognized based on thedetection result by the finger touch detection switches 12A, 12B and12C, blood vessels in the above finger FG can be automatically imaged.

Consequently, when in not performing imaging of an object, a user ofthis cellular phone 51 usually sets the slide board 62 to the camerashielding position (FIG. 9). Thus, when in imaging blood vessels, theuser can image the blood vessels only a necessary action that the userplaces his/her finger FG between the guide parts 11.

Further, in the cellular phone 51 in this embodiment, at the time ofimaging an object, near infrared lights emitted from the near infraredlight emitting parts 8 can be also used as a flash. Thus, the cellularphone 51 can be miniaturized for that a light source dedicated to flashis omitted.

(2-2) Circuit Configuration of Cellular Phone

The circuit configuration of this cellular phone 51 is shown in FIG. 12in that the same reference numerals are added to corresponding parts inFIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 12, the cellular phone 51 is formed by that a displaypart 55, an imaging drive part 72, an image processing part 73, anauthentication part 24, a flash memory 25 and a transmitting/receivingpart 74 are connected to a control part 70 respectively via a bus 21. Inthe flash memory 25, for example, when this cellular phone 51 waspurchased, blood vessels in the finger FG of the user who purchased itis registered by a predetermined blood vessel registration system, asthe data of a registered blood vessel image (registered blood vesselimage data) DR.

The control part 70 has a computer configuration including a CPU(Central Processing Unit) for controlling the entire authenticationapparatus 1, a ROM (Read Only Memory) to store various programs, and aRAM (Random Access Memory) serving as a work memory of the above CPU. Tothe above control part 70, corresponding detection signals S12A to S12Care supplied from three finger touch detection switches 12A to 12C (FIG.8) respectively, and a position detection signal S63 is supplied from aposition detecting switch 63 (FIG. 8).

Further, to this control part 70, commands that correspond to variousbuttons in an operating part 58 respectively, and commands thatcorrespond to a rotating operation and a pressing operation of arotary/push operator 57 respectively are supplied from the operatingpart 58 and the rotary/push operator 57 as execution commands COM.

The control part 70 recognizes that the finger FG is parallel based onthe above detection signals S12A-S12C, and also recognizes a camerashielding position (FIG. 9) or a camera exposing position (FIG. 10)based on the above position detection signal S63. Based on theserecognition results, execution command COM and programs stored in theROM, the control part 70 properly controls the display part 55, theimaging drive part 72, the image processing part 73, the authenticationpart 24, the flash memory 25 and the transmitting/receiving part 74.

When in imaging blood vessels inward of a finger, the imaging drive part72 drives a near infrared light emitting part 8 and a CCD image pickupdevice 4 respectively. In this case, to a finger FG that is placedbetween a pair of guide parts 11A and 11B (FIG. 8) at this time, nearinfrared lights are emitted from the near infrared light emitting part8. Blood vessel projecting lights induced in a CCD camera (CCD imagepickup device 4) through the above finger FG are transmitted from thisCCD camera (CCD image pickup device 4) to the image processing part 73,as a blood vessel image signal S1.

On the other hand, when in imaging an object, the imaging drive part 72drives the CCD camera (CCD image pickup device 4), and also drives thenear infrared light emitting part 8 as the occasion demands, so thatnear infrared lights are emitted as a flash. Then, the imaging drivepart 72 controls the diaphragm of an optical system part OS by automaticexposure control processing, and adjusts an amount of light of lightsthat are incident to the CCD image pickup device 4. At the same time,the imaging drive part 72 controls the position of a lens in the opticalsystem part OS by autofocus control processing, and adjusts a focaldistance and a focus position. In this case, the image of an objectformed on this CCD image pickup device 4 is transmitted from the aboveCCD image pickup device 4 to the image processing part 73 as an imagesignal (hereinafter, this is referred to as an “object image signal”)S10.

In the case where the blood vessel image signal S1 was supplied from theCCD image pickup device 4, the image processing part 73 sequentiallyperforms analog-to-digital conversion processing, various filteringprocessing for noise component elimination and outline emphasis or thelike, binarization processing, and blood vessel linearization processingcalled Morphology on the above blood vessel image signal S1, forexample, similarly to the case of the aforementioned first embodiment,and generates blood vessel image data D23.

On the other hand, in the case where the object image signal S10 wassupplied from the CCD image pickup device 4, the image processing part73 performs compressive coding processing based on a compressive codingmethod called JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), for example, onthe above object image signal S10, and generates compressed image dataD73.

The transmitting/receiving part 74 is connected to the speaker 56, themicrophone 59 and an antenna ANT provided in this cellular phone 51,respectively. The transmitting/receiving part 74 modulates a signalsupplied from the above microphone 59 or the control part 70 and thenamplifies the signal, and transmits thus obtained uplink signal to abase station (not shown) via the antenna ANT.

On the other hand, the transmitting/receiving part 74 receives adownlink signal transmitted from the base station (not shown) via theantenna ANT, amplifies this and then demodulates the signal, andtransmits thus obtained signal to the speaker 56 or the control part 70.

(2-3) Concrete Processing Contents by Control Part

Next, concrete processing contents by the above control part 70 will bedescribed.

This cellular phone 51 has an illegal access preventing function toforbid an access to the flash memory 25 until the user is judged as aregistered person.

Practically, the control part 70 shifts the operation mode to an illegalaccess forbidding mode responding to power on. In the illegal accessforbidding mode, in each processing respectively corresponding tovarious functions that the cellular phone 51 has, execution of targetprocessing previously set is restrained.

In the case of this embodiment, access processing to the flash memory 25has been set as target processing. The control part 70 does not acceptan execution command COM concerning access to the flash memory 25 suchas object imaging processing and e-mail transmitting processing.

That is, in this illegal access forbidding mode, if a position detectionsignal S63 showing the camera exposing position of the slide board 62(FIG. 10) is supplied from the position detection switch 63 (FIG. 8),the control part 70 displays a content such as “Image pickup isunavailable until you are confirmed as the said registered person.Please make authentication.” for example, on the display part 55,without executing object imaging processing, and notifies the user ofthat bioauthentication processing should be executed before executingobject imaging processing.

Further, also in the case where an execution command COM showing e-mailtransmitting processing or the like was received, the control part 70notifies the user of that bioauthentication processing should beexecuted before executing object imaging processing without executingthe above e-mail transmitting processing or the like.

On one hand, in this illegal access forbidding mode, in the state wherethe position detection signal S63 showing the camera shielding positionof the slide board 62 (FIG. 9) has been supplied from the positiondetection switch 63 (FIG. 8), if all of the detection signals S12A, S12Band S12C are supplied from the corresponding finger touch detectionswitches 12A, 12B and 12C (FIG. 1), the control part 70 executesbioauthentication processing.

In this case, the control part 70 controls the imaging drive part 72 soas to drive the CCD image pickup device 4 and the near infrared lightemitting parts 8, and controls the image processing part 73 so as toperform various processing such as blood vessel linearization processingon a blood vessel image signal S1 transmitted from the above CCD imagepickup device 4.

Then, the control part 70 transmits blood vessel image data D23generated in the above image processing part 73 and registered bloodvessel image data DR previously registered in the flash memory 25 to theauthentication part 24, and controls the authentication part 24 so as todetermine the presence of the said registered person based on theseblood vessel image data D23 and registered blood vessel image data DR.

Here, if determination data D24 supplied from the authentication part 24as the above determination result is data that shows being not the saidregistered person, the control part 70 controls the imaging drive part72 so as to drive the CCD image pickup device 4 and the near infraredlight emitting part 8, and keeps this illegal access forbidding mode.

On the contrary, if the determination data D24 is data that shows beingthe said registered person, the control part 70 controls the imagingdrive part 72 so as to drive the CCD image pickup device 4 and the nearinfrared light emitting part 8, and shifts the operation mode from thisillegal access forbidding mode to a usual use mode.

In this manner, the control part 70 can execute bioauthenticationprocessing.

On the other hand, in the above use mode, if a position detection signalS63 showing the camera exposing position of the slide board 62 (FIG. 10)is supplied from the position detection switch 63 (FIG. 8), the controlpart 70 executes object imaging processing.

In this case, the control part 70 controls the imaging drive part 72 soas to drive the CCD image pickup device 4, and also controls the imagingdrive part 72 so as to adjust the lens position of the optical systempart OS and an amount of light to the CCD image pickup device 4. At thistime, if an execution command COM showing a flash lighting instructionis supplied, the control part 70 controls the imaging drive part 72 soas to emit near infrared lights from the near infrared light emittingpart 8 as a flash.

Then, if an execution command COM showing an imaging instruction issupplied in the above state, the control part 70 controls the imageprocessing part 73 so as to perform image compression processing on anobject image signal S10 transmitted from the CCD image pickup device 4at this time, and stores thus obtained compressed image data D73 in theflash memory 25.

In this manner, the control part 70 can execute object imagingprocessing.

Note that, in this use mode, also in the case where an execution commandCOM showing e-mail transmitting processing or the like was received, thecontrol part 70 executes corresponding various processing withoutrestriction.

In this manner, in this cellular phone 51, access to the flash memory 25is forbidden until the user is determined as a registered person, sothat the contents of various data stored in the flash memory 25 can beprotected from a third party.

(2-4) Operation and Effect By Second Embodiment

According to the above configuration, in this cellular phone 51, theplacing part 7 is provided near the other end of shorter side ED4 on theback surface of the second housing 53, and the reflective board 6 isprovided between the imaging opening part 3 facing to the above placingpart 7 and the one end of shorter side ED3. And the CCD image pickupdevice 4 for transmitting near infrared lights that passed through thefinger FG placed on the placing part 7 and were refracted by thereflective board 6 as a blood vessel image signal S1 is provided at alower part of the above imaging opening part 3 in the second housing 53.

Accordingly, in this cellular phone 51, similarly to the case of theaforementioned first embodiment, in addition to the distance from theCCD image pickup device 4 to the reflective board 6 in the thicknessdirection, the distance from the above reflective board 6 to the placingpart 7 in the horizontal direction can be kept. Therefore, distortion ofaberration in the optical system can be removed without only relying oncorrection by a macro lens and a signal processing circuit, as well asrestraining the overall thickness. Thus, image quality can be improvedwhile considering miniaturization.

In addition to this, in this cellular phone 51, the above reflectiveboard 6 can be held freely movably from the camera shielding positionfacing to the CCD image pickup device 4 (FIG. 9) to the camera exposingposition separated from the above camera holding position (FIG. 10), andaccording to the above holding position, processing on a signaltransmitted from the CCD image pickup device 4 is switched tobioauthentication processing or image compression processing.

Accordingly, in this cellular phone 51, the optical system part OS andthe CCD image pickup device 4 can be shared. Thus, the cellular phone 51can be miniaturized as a whole.

According to the above configuration, the reflective board 6 is heldfreely movably from the camera shielding position facing to the CCDimage pickup device 4 (FIG. 9) to the camera exposing position separatedfrom the above camera shielding position (FIG. 10), and according to theabove holding position, processing on a signal transmitted from the CCDimage pickup device 4 is switched to bioauthentication processing orimage compression processing. Thereby, the above CCD image pickup device4 can be shared. Thus, the cellular phone 51 can be miniaturized as awhole.

(3) Other Embodiments

In the aforementioned embodiment, it has dealt with the case where inthe first embodiment, a bioimaging apparatus for imaging a formation ina bioregion as an object to be imaged is applied to a dedicatedauthentication apparatus 1 having an authentication function, and in thesecond embodiment, the bioimaging apparatus is applied to a cellularphone 51 having an authentication function. However, the presentinvention is not only limited to this but also an imaging apparatus inthis invention can be applied to apparatuses having various uses otherthan this, such as application to medical equipment.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, as a formation, it has dealtwith the case where blood vessels are applied. However, the presentinvention is not only limited to this but also various formations otherthan this such as nerves existing inward of a living body, a fingerprintand a mouthprint existing on the surface of a living body can beapplied. In this connection, in the case of applying nerves, forexample, if a marker unique to nerves is injected in a body and themarker is imaged, the nerves can be imaged similarly to theaforementioned embodiment.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, as a bioregion, it has dealtwith the case where a finger is applied. However, the present inventionis not only limited to this but also various bioregions other than thissuch as a palm, an arm and an eye can be applied, depending on an objectto be imaged.

Further, as the configuration of an imaging apparatus, it has dealt withthe case where in the first embodiment, the authentication apparatus 1having the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applied, and in thesecond embodiment, the cellular phone 51 having the configuration shownin FIGS. 6-10 is applied. However, the present invention is not onlylimited to this but also depending on a use, an object to be imaged, orthe like, the arrangement, the shape or the configuration of each partconcerning the above imaging may be properly changed.

That is, in the aforementioned embodiment, as a placing part that isprovided on the front surface side of a housing containing an electroniccircuit to place a bioregion, it has dealt with the case where it isprovided on the top surface 2A of the housing 2 (the back surface of thesecond housing 53). However, instead of this, for example, adifference-in-level part is provided in the direction orthogonal to thetop surface 2A (the back surface of the second housing 53), and a partof or all of the difference-in-level part may be used as a placing part.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, it has dealt with the casewhere the placing part 7 formed by the pair of guide parts 11A and 11Band the finger touch detection switches 12A-12C are applied. However,the present invention is not only limited to this but also the number ofthe above finger touch detection switches 12 may be changed, or theshape or the configuration of the guide part 11 may be modified. Eitherone of them may be omitted. Or instead of omitting both of them, a markfor a placement may be provided on the surface. Further, a placing partformed by combining the aforementioned contents may be adopted.

Next, in the aforementioned embodiment, as an emitting part for emittingimaging lights to a placing part, near infrared lights of 900 [nm]-1000[nm] are emitted. However, instead of this, lights on variouswavelengths other than this such as visible lights may be emitted.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, as a method for attaching anemitting part, it has dealt with the case where it is provided on thetop surface 2A of the housing 2 (the back surface of the second housing53). However, instead of this, an emitting part may be provided asburied in the above top surface 2A (the back surface). A member todispose an emitting part is provided in a space on the above top surface2A (the back surface of the second housing 53), and the emitting partmay be provided on that member. However, in the case of considering thethickness of an overall apparatus, it is desirable to be provided on thetop surface 2A of the housing 2 (the back surface of the second housing53) or in a space near that.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, as an emitting direction ofimaging lights, imaging lights are emitted from the direction forming120 degrees to the top surface 2A of the housing 2 (the back surface ofthe second housing 53), however, imaging lights can be emitted from anydirections. However, in the case of emitting imaging lights to aformation existing inward of a living body as blood vessels applied inthe aforementioned embodiment, if considering the thickness of anoverall apparatus, it is desirable that an emitting part is provided soas to be an emitting direction forming an obtuse angle to the placingsurface of a placing part. Specifically, it is preferable to select anyone of angles from 100 degrees to 140 degrees to the placing surface ofa placing part.

Next, in the aforementioned embodiment, as a reflective board that isprovided as facing to a placing part on the front surface side of ahousing, and reflects imaging lights from a bioregion placed on theplacing part to the inside of a housing, it has dealt with the casewhere the reflective board is provided in the state slant to the otherend of shorter side ED2 (the other end of shorter side ED4) so as toform an inclination angle of 45 degrees to the top surface 2A of thehousing 2 (the back surface of the second housing 53). However, insteadof this, for example, a difference-in-level part is provided in thedirection orthogonal to the top surface 2A (the back surface of thesecond housing 53), and a reflective board may be provided on thedifference-in-level part. A member to dispose a reflective board in aspace on the above top surface 2A (the back surface of the secondhousing 53) is provided, and the reflective board may be provided on themember. Further, as an inclination angle, also an angle other than 45degrees can be selected.

Next, in the aforementioned embodiment, as an image pickup device thatis provided in a housing, and transmits imaging lights reflected by areflective board as an image signal, it has dealt with the case wherethe CCD image pickup device 4 is applied. However, instead of this,various image pickup devices other than this such as a CMOS(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be applied. Further, alsoas to a position disposing this, an image pickup device can be disposedat various positions in a housing.

Next, in the aforementioned embodiment, as inclination detection meansfor detecting inclination of a finger or a hand guided by a guide part,it has dealt with the case where the finger touch detection switches areprovided along the guide direction at predetermined intervals. However,instead of the above finger touch detection switches, a camera may beprovided, or detection mechanism for mechanically detecting inclinationmay be provided.

In this case, in the aforementioned embodiment, it has dealt with thecase where the presence of inclination is detected. However, aninclination angle may be detected, and this may be notified.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, it has dealt with the casewhere the reflective board 6 is covered except the incident path and thereflecting path of imaging lights to the reflecting surface of thereflective board 6. However, the present invention is not only limitedto this but also all over the top surface 2A of the housing 2 (the backsurface of the second housing 53) may be covered.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiment, as an imaging apparatus, ithas dealt with the case where in the first embodiment, the apparatushaving the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applied, and in thesecond embodiment, the apparatus having the configuration shown in FIGS.6-10 is applied. However, the present invention is not only limited tothis but also an imaging apparatus 80 having a configuration shown inFIG. 13 in that the same reference numerals are added to correspondingparts in FIG. 2 and FIG. 9 may be applied.

This imaging apparatus 80 is largely different from the authenticationapparatus 1 (the cellular phone 51) contained in the housing 2 (thesecond housing 53) in a point that the imaging system formed by theoptical system part OS and the CCD image pickup device 4 is disposed onthe top surface 2A of the housing 2 (the back surface of the secondhousing 53). Further, in the imaging apparatus 80, it is different fromthe cover part 9 that covers the reflective board 6 except the incidentpath and the reflecting path of imaging lights to the reflecting surfaceof the reflective board 6, in a point that a cover part 81 covering theabove optical system part OS and CCD image pickup device 4 except theincident direction to the imaging surface IF is provided.

According to this imaging apparatus 80, the optical system part OS andthe CCD image pickup device 4 are provided on the front surface of thehousing 2 (the second housing 53) as facing to the placing part 7.Thereby, a distance in the horizontal direction can be kept on the frontsurface of the above housing 2 (the second housing 53), withoutcontaining an imaging system in the housing 2 (the second housing 53)that contains an electronic circuit. Therefore, distortion of aberrationin the optical system can be removed without only relying on correctionby a macro lens and a signal processing circuit, as well as reducing thethickness of the above housing 2 (the second housing 53) itself andrestraining the overall thickness.

Note that, as the slide board 61 in the second embodiment, by mounting aholding part that holds the optical system part OS, the CCD image pickupdevice 4 and the cover part 81 freely movable from a first position to asecond position that is separated from the first position, the distancebetween the CCD image pickup device 4 and the placing part 7 may beadjusted according to the diameter of a finger placed on the placingpart 7. Thereby, image quality can be further improved.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be utilized in a field that uses a techniquefor identifying a living body and a medical field.

1. A bioimaging apparatus for imaging a formation in a bioregion as anobject to be imaged, comprising: a placing part, to place saidbioregion, positioned on the front surface side of a housing containingan electronic circuit; an emitting part for emitting imaging lights tosaid placing part; a reflective board, for reflecting said imaginglights which are transmitted through said bioregion placed on saidplacing part to the inside of said housing, positioned on the frontsurface side of said housing facing said placing part; and an imagepickup device for transmitting said imaging lights reflected by saidreflective board as an image signal, provided in said housing; whereinsaid bioregion is a finger or a hand; and said placing part is formed bya guide part to guide said finger or said hand so that the belly of thefinger or the palm is almost orthogonal to a placing surface.
 2. Thebioimaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said object to beimaged is a formation existing in said bioregion; and said emitting partis provided as being in an emitting direction having an obtuse angle toa placing surface of said placing part.
 3. The bioimaging apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein: said object to be imaged is a formationexisting in said bioregion; and said emitting part is provided as beingin an emitting direction having any one of angles from 100 degrees to140 degrees to the placing surface of said placing part.
 4. Thebioimaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said object to beimaged is a formation existing in said bioregion; and said emitting partemits said imaging lights having an wavelength unique to said object tobe imaged.
 5. The bioimaging apparatus according to claim 4, whereinsaid emitting part emits said imaging lights comprising a wavelengthuniquely absorbed by oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin.6. The bioimaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said emittingpart emits said imaging lights comprising a wavelength of about 900 nmto about 1,000 nm.
 7. The bioimaging apparatus according to claim 1,including: a sheet-form light absorbing part for absorbing said imaginglights, provided between said placing part and said reflective board. 8.The bioimaging apparatus according to claim 1, including; a cover partfor covering a reflecting surface except the incidental path and thereflecting path of said imaging lights to the reflecting surface of saidreflective board.
 9. The bioimaging apparatus according to claim 1,wherein: said placing part is further formed by inclination detectionmeans for detecting the inclination of said finger or said hand guidedby said guide part; and drive means for driving said emitting part andsaid image pickup device according to the detection result by saidinclination detection means is included.
 10. The bioimaging apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein: said placing part is further formed byinclination detection means for detecting the inclination of said fingeror said hand guided by said guide part; and notification means fornotifying the state of said inclination according to the detectionresult by said inclination detection means is included.
 11. Thebioimaging apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a holding partfor holding said reflective board freely movably from a first positionfacing to said image pickup device to a second position separated fromthe above first position; position detection means for detecting saidholding part; image processing means for performing image processing onan image signal transmitted from said image pickup device; and controlmeans for controlling said image processing means so as to perform imageprocessing suitable to an object to be imaged existing inward of saidbioregion, or image processing according to an object other than theabove object to be imaged, suitable to the position of said holding partdetected by said position detection means.
 12. The bioimaging apparatusaccording to claim 1, comprising: a holding part for holding saidreflective board freely movably from a first position facing to saidimage pickup device to a second position separated from the above firstposition; position detection means for detecting the position of saidholding part; touch detection means for detecting a touch of saidbioregion to said placing part; and drive means for driving saidemitting part and said image pickup device, when said first position anda touch of said bioregion were detected.